The invention relates to a sliding roof system for a motor vehicle, including at least one guide rail, a cover holder which is adjustable relative to the guide rail, and a slide which is shiftable in the guide rail.
An example of such a sliding roof system can be found in EP 2 072 304 A. It serves to attach a cover 10 (see FIG. 1) to a vehicle roof in such a way that the cover can be shifted between a closed position, in which it closes an opening in the vehicle roof, and various more or less fully opened positions. The cover 10 is fitted to a cover holder 12 which is adjustably accommodated in a guide rail 14 by means of various interconnected components. In practice, typically two guide rails and, accordingly, two cover holders are used, namely, at the lateral edges of the roof as viewed in the direction of travel. For adjusting the cover holder 12, a slide 16 is provided which is mounted for sliding movement in the guide rail, is adjusted by a drive cable (not shown), and determines the position of the cover holder 12. By shifting the slide along the guide rail 14, the cover holder 12 and thus the cover 10 can be transferred from the closed position shown in FIG. 1 via a ventilation position shown in FIG. 2 to a raised position shown in FIG. 3. In the ventilation position, the rear edge of the cover 10 as viewed in the direction of travel is raised outward while the front edge of the cover rests substantially unchanged against the front edge of the roof opening. In the position raised outward, the cover holder is lifted outward so far that the cover 10 can be transferred rearward, as a result of which the roof opening associated with it is exposed.
One requirement placed on all sliding roof systems, irrespective of the specific configuration of the adjustment mechanism, resides in that the cover be held as stably as possible in the vertical direction, that is, the z-direction, when the cover is in the closed position or also in the ventilation position. In fact, due to the flow conditions in the roof area, a partial vacuum acts on the front edge of the cover which attempts to pull the front edge of the cover upward. If the cover is not stably mounted, this would result in the front edge of the cover protruding over the adjacent roof area. This would lead to undesirable flow noises.
The object of the invention resides in further developing a sliding roof system of the type initially mentioned to the effect that the front edge of the cover is held particularly precisely on the vehicle in the vertical direction.